


The Red King and the Mad King

by vampgirltish



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: ((this will eventually fit into my soulmate AU thing that I'm working on!)), Angst, Blood, I didn't want to put the archive warning of death on there but there's death, Kings AU, M/M, Medieval AU, No spoilers on who it is though, Shakespearean Language, also Michael/Lindsay is a relationship but it's briefly mentioned like for two lines, and, from a fuckin generator tho so how accurate is it?? :~), oh and
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 02:11:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3710959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampgirltish/pseuds/vampgirltish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Red King and the Mad King were known as enemies. That was evident by their rules alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Red King and the Mad King

**Author's Note:**

  * For [surgeoninspace](https://archiveofourown.org/users/surgeoninspace/gifts).



> There's gonna be references to sites I used at the end of this, but I'll put the link to the Shakespeare speech translator here so you guys can use it as you read if you don't understand something. You can put whole phrases (and sentences) in there. 
> 
> http://lingojam.com/shakespearean
> 
> On that note, I hope you all enjoy this first part in a silly AU I came up with.

 

> “To know true love, even though it was impossible to keep, had finally cracked [his] heart open enough to let someone else in.” - Andrea Hurst, _Always with You_

 

* * *

The Red King Ray was always known as the rival to the Mad King Ryan. The Red King was fair and honest where the Mad King was unfair and cruel. The Red King was responsible, but at times vulnerable and too relaxed. Even after Michael, the Righteous King, promised Ray that it would be easy for him if he kept to himself. Ray was good at that.

“I gage, if thou keep to thy self, then thither will be nothing to fear from the Mad King. He cannot doth aught to thou if thou doth not engage,” the king told him.

“But wherefore did thou enlist me as thy heir, king? Did thou and Lindsay not bear a child?” Ray asked.

“'Tis for that very reason that I wilt resign as king. Mine child and mine jointress need me more than this kingdom dost. I trust that thou will make shift take care of this kingdom beyond me.”

“Of course, mine liege, but wherefore me over thy more valued governor general? I am but a knight in thy noble army!”

“Thou hast seen that mine governor general Gavin is rather unwise. He is not fit to take care of the kingdom, and ye are a better choice to take care of it.” Michael told him this, and that was the end of Ray’s decision on the matter. He was to be the heir of Michael and Lindsay’s rule, even despite not having the same name as them. The Jones monarchy was retiring, and the Narvaez monarchy was beginning; however, his monarchy would end quickly after he was finished as king. Ray was not in search for a wife or a child, since he was more interested in men.

So the Red King had been king for many of his years since then.

A letter was received from a kingdom, and a page brought it in to where the Red King was sitting in his throne room. Ray inspected the wax seal on the letter: it was a deep burgundy red with flecks of gold in it, and on it was a crest. He squinted closer at the crest to see a large ‘H’ in the middle. Ray sent the page away and broke the seal on the envelope, pulling out the parchment and squinting at the writing that appeared more as if a spider had walked across the page than someone of kingly nature had written (or dictated) this letter.

After adjusting to the writing, Ray read:

 

_To the Red King Ray of Rosewood;_

_I propose that thou and I meet and create an agreement 'tween us that we can either hast peace or war. I grow weary of this neutrality and silence between us._

_From the highest King Ryan of Swynbourne_

 

Ray questioned in himself if there were more than one King Ryan. If there were more than the Mad King Ryan. He called for a page to send a reply to this letter agreeing to the proposal from the King of Swynbourne. He just hoped his worries were false.

* * *

Ray was wrong. Ray was very very wrong.

In front of him in the library-turned-conference room was none other than the Mad King.

Ray thought to himself that the king did not look as crazy as others said. The only unsettling thing about him was the glint in the man’s blue eyes that made Ray feel like he knew something that he didn’t. In any aspect, the man was attractive, Ray would not deny that.

“I believe that 'tis in our best interest to either pursue war or peace. I leave that decision to thou,” the Mad King said.

“But wherefore art thou interrupting our silence so suddenly? Thou wast previously fine with the silence.”

“That was 'ere I defeated several other kingdoms. Yours was next in the line.”

Ray swallowed nervously. “But peace is still an option, ay?”

“Ay, peace is an option. But peace is an option for a price. I doth not spare lives for free. Thou shouldst wot that.”

There was a long drag of silence as Ray thought about what the Mad King said to him.

“Ay, what is thy price? Any amount of gold, land, agriculture; I will pay it to thou.”

The Mad King put on a smirk that Ray thought was both menacing and attractive. The king spoke simply then: “The price is simple.” Ray opened his mouth to say something to the other king, but was silenced by the other man’s mouth on his own. A noise of surprise came from deep within his throat and that caused the Mad King to yank him closer.

The two kissed for a long time, tasting each other, and the Mad King groping for purchase to pull the Red King closer.

The Red King cried out desperately when the kiss parted, “Good sir, how am I to pay this price if we art in kingdoms on opposite sides of the country? It dost not seem feasible for us!”

The Mad King put on that smirk again, but does not answer Ray’s question, “Doth thou not find me attractive?”

Ray felt nervous to answer a question like that, “That dost not answer mine question, good sir!”

The Mad King was more forceful this time, fisting the front of the Red King’s robes and pulling him close enough that they were nearly nose-to-nose. “Thou did not answer mine question either. Doth thou find me attractive, or nay?”

“Ay, ay, sir.” Ray admitted.

The Mad King’s face twisted even more widely into that smirk. “Then trust that thy need for our... fees to be met will come into fruition on its own terms.” The King then turned, and left the room, the heavy wooden doors of the library closing just as Ray began to process what the Mad King said.

* * *

A few days later, another letter came in with the same crest. Ray found himself opening it faster than was probably normal.

 

_To the dearest Red King Ray of Rosewood;_

_Haply we couldst meet within the next few days if thou can make the journey out to Swynbourne to see me? I hardly cullionly this letter to sound desperate; rather I intend it to clarify that thy payment and dues art behoveful for peace. The first time was dram more than example. Thou still owe me._

_From the highest King Ryan of Swynbourne_

Ray called in a page to arrange for travel the following day, and asked him to reply to the King of Swynbourne and tell him that he will be coming within the next few days. He told his associates and those who asked that it was on business; because, as far as Ray was concerned, it was business. All it was was business, Ray convinced himself.

He took two days to travel to Swynbourne, and was welcomed into the kingdom. Red tartan banners and flags flew over the city, and it seemed dark and dreary compared to Rosewood. Ray smiled to many of the peoples he passed in the kingdom, but all of them dropped their heads immediately upon seeing the silvery crown on his head. King Ryan was a very different ruler than he.

He was taken into the palace and led into the Mad King’s throne room. Everything in there was different from Rosewood as well: everything was a deep red tartan with golden accents, and cow skulls were a popular accent within the various halls that Ray had seen. In any flower pot were only marigolds and chrysanthemums, which caused the air to smell of corpses and a dusty floral smell.

The Mad King was sitting on his throne, and startled Ray by greeting him by his name, “Ray, 'tis a pleasure to see thou. Welcome to Swynbourne. Mine kingdom welcomes thou in all of its--and thy--beauty.”

Ray hid his blush, and responded, “Gramercy, good sir. I appreciate thy welcome and arrived hither on business to pay mine dues for peace.”

“I wot that is wherefore ye are hither. For what other reason would thou hast to visit me? We can make thy transaction wherever thou feel is most right.” Ray was about to respond, but the King had more to say. “And thou may clepe me Ryan or my liege. Nothing else from hither on.”

Ray made a mental note to just call him Ryan; after all, they were on the same level so he did not want to call the Mad King by a title that made him sound superior. “Ay, Ryan. All is fair with me, and I would like thou to pick whence we art to complete mine debt.”

Ryan smiled, a genuine one this time, and Ray felt a swoop in his stomach that he shook off as nerves. The Mad King was unexpected, so he had a right to be nervous. Right? Ryan then led Ray through the palace, through all the rooms that still smelled of corpses and musty flowers, all the way to a large oak door. The Mad King twisted the knob and pushed Ray inside first. Ray’s eyes adjusted and he saw a four-poster bed in the corner. The room still smelled the same as the rest of the castle, and he wrinkled his nose. He knew exactly where he was, but Ryan spoke and told him anyways.

“These art mine bedchambers. I take good care of this cubiculo and expect thou to doth the same. I also expect that the bed over thither will come of lay-to in future payments, ay?”

Ray flushed and didn’t know how to respond.

Within an instant, a searing pain hit his cheek, and he processed that Ryan had slapped him, “I asked thou a question, Ray! Anon, answer me. That bed will come into lay-to in the future, ay or nay?”

Ray didn’t understand what about this man was making him feel as crazy as he did as he answered, “Ay, it will come into lay-to, marry.”

In another instant, the Mad King’s hand was on the same cheek he had slapped, holding it gently in his palm. “I am sorry that I had to hurt thou, Ray. But had I not, thou would hast not harked or answered me! Doth thou see mine point?” Fearing another slap, Ray nodded. “Excellent.”

Then, Ryan’s mouth was on his again, just as instantaneous as the slap, but twice as jarring. Their lips were shifting and moving together, panting and sloppy. Ryan pulled away, that same secretive glint in his eyes, and he said, “In the future, I see more propositions that will create larger benefit 'tween us.”

* * *

These payments of debt went on for months, and Ray promised (and lied) to himself over and over that it was strictly business, strictly business, strictly business. But as the Mad King kept kissing him, the sex came. The sex was wild and unpredictable, and everything Ray didn’t know that he wanted from another man. The Mad King also began to show a softer side, a side Ray only seemed to see. One late night in Swynbourne, after a long night of sex, Ryan turned to Ray, and said, “Ay, I doth not think thither is someone I hast seen that is quite as beautiful as thou.” Ray did little more than thank him, he was far too tired to say much else and sleep was overtaking him. “Haply one day we will be married. The first dual kingship in the history of Swynbourne. Haply in Rosewood as well?”

Ray didn’t respond this time, just curled himself closer to the older king. The Mad King continued to speak, even after the Red King had fallen asleep. “Marrying thou may be in both of our best interests, both in the sake of kingship and in the sake of our humors. I dare to say that I bite thee by the ear, likely more than anyone else. I hope that thou would say the same for me, mine dear Red King.” The Mad King fell asleep shortly after that, tired from the evening they had.

* * *

But they couldn’t run away from their feelings for each other forever. They couldn’t hide the fact that they loved each other, especially now that people were beginning to notice their frequent exchange of letters. And when people notice, people talk, and then the rumors begin.

Ray handwrote a letter to Ryan this time, avoiding the page hearing the words he had to say:

 

_To the highest King Ryan of Swynbourne;_

_The people will begin to talk, Ryan. The people art already beginning to talk about us, about our affections and feelings, and about how our peace payments art being made. Many of the people accountable in mine kingdom for taking stock hast noticed nay a change in the numbers, and art wondering what I pay thou in. It would be most awkward to betoken them I pay thou with mine corse and mine lips, would it not? I ask that thou give me some sort of answer or counsel to solve this issue._

_Yours, the Red King Ray of Rosewood_

Ray did not receive a reply to his letter for a long time, and Ray began to wonder if Ryan had died. That sent a chill of fear through him, both because the agreements of peace between Swynbourne and Rosewood could be lost in translation, and because he wasn’t ready to let go of the feeling of Ryan’s lips on his. So, Ray kept waiting. He waited and waited until it got to the point that a page coming into the room would make his head snap in their direction with wide eyes, searching their hands for a letter that was never there.

Finally, Ray realized that enough was enough. He told them to prepare for another journey to Swynbourne, and silence was given in response as the page turned to leave.

Ray suddenly spoke, “Wherefore did thou not respond to me with respect? I did not ask for silence, I asked for thou to respond to me!”

As the page apologized with respect and hurried out of the room, Ray realized the words he said were also applicable to his more crucial situation with the Mad King. Ray wanted response, he wanted answers, he wanted something, but the latter king wasn’t giving him any of those things.

He traveled to Swynbourne with little use for his voice, spending most of the time hidden away and sleeping, trying to ignore the hammering of his heart at the anticipation (or was it fear?) of seeing the king again. He entered the palace without any of Ryan’s men, and he wasn’t sure if that was because Ryan had given them direction not to care about the Red King walking in, or because there was no one there.

He went straight to the first room he’d ever been in, the throne room. He looked around. The tartan was still there, the room still hung with the thick smell of corpses and musty flowers. Nothing had changed from the last time he was there, but something felt wrong within his heart. Something felt horribly horribly wrong.

Ray kept walking, this time going to Ryan’s bedchambers. The door was wide open, very much unlike him. He walked in, and used his voice for the first time in a long time, “R-Ryan?”

There was no response.

Ray walked further into the room, still as dark as pitch. He didn’t have the thought to light candles, and the only one lit was one by the bed of the king. Ray noticed a figure in the bed, and sighed in relief.

The Mad King was only asleep.

As he got closer, he looked closer at the red blanket that was on Ryan’s bed; the same blanket Ray had been tangled in so many times before. He looked at the red pillows...

Wait, Ryan’s pillows were normally white.

And the red of the Mad King’s tartan was deeper and darker than this.

Just as the realization hit him, the metallic sting of  blood hit his nose.

Ray’s hands went to his mouth in shock, and he pulled away the blanket that was over his lover, and saw the large hole through him. A knife was still in the sheets with him. Ray climbed into the bed even though it was covered in the blood of the Mad King, and crawled closer, pressing a kiss to the older man’s jaw as tears ran down his cheeks. He pressed his cheek to his chest, and heard no heartbeat. He heard no breath coming from the man.

And that hammered into Ray’s head the finality that Ryan was dead.

Ray spent a few moments with the king, crying hard, before composing himself and standing. He went outside to one of his pages, and said, “Today I am changing what we doth. Today we art going to find whoever killed the Mad King Ryan, and I will make it mine duty and task to kill him by mine own hand.”

The page nodded, and something inside Ray snapped. He was no longer the Red King because of the roses spread in the city of Rosewood; now he was the Red King because of the blood he caused to shed.

**Author's Note:**

> Here are the other references I used:
> 
> http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/the_elements/the_metals.asp for Ray's silver crown meaning protection and lunar magic.
> 
> http://www.fragrantica.com/notes/Chrysanthemum-211.html for the smell of chrysanthemum (which is musty and floral). So yes, marigolds smell like corpses.


End file.
